THE SHIFTING DYNAMICS BETWEEN WORK AND LIFE IN REMOTE WORKING

Abstract

Purpose: Aiming to investigate how knowledge workers organise their work through boundary practice in remote working, this study has partnered with one online consulting company who provides professional accounting services to third party customers. This study tries to explore 1) how accountants organize their work through managing and shaping their physical and temporal boundaries to establish flexibility in remote working; 2) how are technologies harnessed to manage work-life boundaries in the context of remote working. By probing into these inquiries, this study enlightens the complex interplay between evolving work practices, technological advancements, and individual boundary practices. Theory: Through the lens of work-family border theory, this study would shed light on the shifting dynamics between work and life within the context of remote working. Method: Using semi-structured interview and reflexive thematic analysis, this empirical study would be able to discover individualized and contextualised strategies and tactics of boundary practice in temporal and spatial dimensions within remote working context. Results: Knowledge workers perceive themselves as the active agents in 1) constantly shaping and managing their temporal and physical boundaries; 2) negotiating their boundaries with other domain members; 3) using ICTs and MCTs to manage, shape and modify their boundaries. Their boundary strategies entail a dynamic shift depending on constant trade-offs of diverse personal and professional priorities. The shifting dynamics between work and life is both the central character of work-life balance, as well as the key resource of creating work-life balance within the context of remote working. Furthermore, the re-construction of organization/company/supervisor’ role in boundary negotiation may be crucial for matching expectations between different stakeholders in remote working. The seamfullness design may better contribute to the boundary practice in remote working.